Hyderabad:

Data centres have drastically increased their electricity consumption over the past few years. As per the report, about 1.5 per cent of global electricity consumption was done by these centres in 2024 which has increased by 12 per cent annually over the past five years. Generative AI requires immense computing power to process information accumulated in gigantic databases. Currently, the U.S., Europe, and China altogether account for 85 per cent of data centre consumption.

A report from IEA (International Energy Agency) on Thursday mentioned that data centres will consume more than double electricity by 2030, as it powers artificial intelligence applications. This will create new challenges in energy security and the CO2 emission goals, states the report. With the help of AI, the production and consumption of electricity can be done more efficiently, the IEA said in its first report which stated the energy implications of AI.

Tech giants know their growing need for power, so they collaborate with nuclear energy companies to suffice the required electricity needs. Last year, Google signed a deal to get electricity from small nuclear reactors which will power its data centres. Similarly, Microsoft uses energy from new reactors at Three Mile Island. The e-commerce giant, Amazon also signed a deal, last year, to use nuclear power for its data centres. At the current rate, data centres will consume about three per cent of global energy by 2030, the report said. Moreover, the report also mentions that electricity consumption by data centres will reach about 945 terawatt hours (TWH) by 2030.

A 100-megawatt data centre can use as much power as 100,000 households, says the report. But, it also highlighted that new data centres which are under construction, could use as much electricity as two million households.

"This is slightly more than Japan’s total electricity consumption today. AI is the most important driver of this growth, alongside growing demand for other digital services," said the report.

"Artificial intelligence has the potential to transform the energy sector in the coming decade, driving a surge in electricity demand from data centres worldwide, while also unlocking significant opportunities to cut costs, enhance competitiveness, and reduce emissions", says the Paris-based energy policy advisory group.

US President Donald Trump has launched a "National CouncilCouncil for Energy Dominance" to overshadow China in the field of AI, which aims to boost the production of electricity. Currently, 30 per cent of the energy required to power data centres is derived from coal. Natural gas and other renewable sources of energy will be used to power the data centres at their lower costs. The growth of data centres will inevitably increase carbon emissions linked to electricity consumption, from 180 million tonnes of CO2 today to 300 million tonnes by 2035, the IEA said.

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